The present invention relates generally to means for and method of forming dental devices, and more particularly to a correlator in which a tooth positioner is formed and to the method of forming the tooth positioner by employment of the correlator.
The present novel correlator and the method of employing it to make an accurate hinge axis tooth positioner affords an efficient and reliable apparatus for and method of forming tooth positioners which is radically different from anything heretofore found in the dental art.
A tooth positioner is adapted to surround the teeth of a wearer for directing the teeth towards the assumption of preselected ideal positions, especially for the final artistic positioning and retention of the teeth in cases that have already had basic treatment completed with other applicances, such as bands and/or wires.
Heretofore, positioners have generally been made according to U.S. Pat. No. 2 775 036 wherein soft vulcanizable rubber of suitable formula is placed within a dental flask and exposed to high heat and pressure in order to become permanently formed with the teeth impressions of the models. Unfortunately, this process, although long accepted, never produced an accurate positioner because tilt and torque were always present due to an excess of rubber material in the flask which results in "flashing" as the excess material forces its way out of the flask because it expands with temperature. The flashing could not be avoided even with tons of pressure exerted on the flask. If too little rubber was put into the flask, the flashing would be eliminated but the positioner would not be completely formed because of lack of material.
All other positioner techniques require flasking which always results in unwanted excess of material between the flask opening while packing or processing, which will change the interocclusal wedge opening of the material. This improper wedge will tend to subluxate the condyles from the fossae as the patient reaches forward just to seat into the positioner, which makes it hard to wear and will cause adverse tooth movements if worn for an extended period of time.
The present invention incorporates the only known method processing a tooth positioner without flasking and will reproduce the same exact opening from the articulated set-up models without any excess of material.